Flexible pocket ski carrier

ABSTRACT

A ski carrier device for the hands free carrying of a pair of skis. The carrier includes a toe loop for securing the skis near first binding component. The carrier also includes an aft loop for attaching near a second binding component. Shoulder straps connect the toe and aft loops. A skier places his arms through the shoulder straps and adjusts the skis to rest upon his back.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0001] Not Applicable.

STATEMENTS REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

[0002] Not Applicable.

REFERENCE TO A MICROFICHE APPENDIX

[0003] Not Applicable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0004] 1. Field of the Invention

[0005] This invention relates to a ski carrier for enabling the skier toeasily carry skis with both shoulders. More particularly, the presentinvention relates to a flexible pocket ski carrier for use with theshoulders to permit hands free carrying of skis.

[0006] 2. Related Art Description

[0007] As will be known to those skilled in the art, it is very tiresomeand painful to carry skis over the shoulders while hiking up steepinclines or traversing precipitous paths, particularly when there isheavy snow on the ground or the footing is unsure due to ice and rocks.Carrying bulky skis by hand often causes the skier to lose balance orfooting when hiking over uneven terrain. Further, carrying skis on ashoulder causes the skier to twist the torso while hiking, resulting inthe shoulders and arms quickly tiring and in the body exerting moreenergy to carry the cumbersome skis. Moreover, carrying skis over ashoulder reduces balance because the skier must use one hand for holdingthe skis on the shoulder and the other for carrying ski poles.

[0008] In the past, ski carriers have included devices for skiers tocarry skis and poles as a manageable unit over long distances.Typically, these prior art carriers were used to assist with thetransport of both the skis and poles from parking areas to the skiareas. In general, these carriers required carrying skis on one shoulderby use of a strap or by hand with a handle device. While such carrierswere suitable for walking on relatively flat terrain, when the terrainincreased in slope, they failed to perform adequately and often weremore difficult to manage than carrying the skis and poles without anydevice at all. Moreover, the prior art carriers included complex strapor mechanical devices for carrying both the skis and poles together as aunit. Examples of prior art carriers characterized by the shortcomingsdescribed above are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,575,412 and 5,762,242.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0009] A ski carrier device for the hands free carrying of a pair ofskis. The ski carrier includes a toe loop for securing the carrier tothe skis near a first binding component. Additionally, the carrierincludes an aft loop for attaching the carrier to the skis near a secondbinding component. A pair of shoulder straps connects the toe and aftloops. In operation, the skier places his arms through the shoulderstraps and adjusts the skis to rest upon his back.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0010] A better understanding of the present invention can be obtainedwhen the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment isconsidered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0011]FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the present invention as worn bya skier;

[0012]FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the device of FIG. 1;

[0013]FIG. 3 is a front elevational view of the device of FIG. 1;

[0014]FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the present invention;

[0015]FIG. 5 is an expanded view of a detail of the device of FIG. 4;and

[0016]FIG. 6 is an elevational view of the device of FIG. 4.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0017] Referring to the drawings, FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 show a flexiblepocket ski carrier 10 of the present invention as used by a skier S foreasily transporting a pair of skis 100. More particularly, as will bedescribed below, the carrier 10 enables the skier S to carry the skis100 with both shoulders without the skier needing to use either hand forsupporting or carrying the skis, leaving the hands free to perform otherfunctions. The carrier 10 is quickly secured to the skis 100 and easilydonned by the skier S. Once the skier S reaches a desired location tobegin skiing, the carrier 10 is easily removed from the skier S and skis100, and stowed in a jacket or other suitable pocket (not shown).

[0018]FIG. 4 shows the ski carrier 10 of the present invention withoutskis 100. The ski carrier 10 is preferably manufactured from a singlestrip of flexible material 18, approximately seven feet in length,although any suitable length and any number of segments may be used.Preferably, the flexible material 18 is a fabric such as utilityone-inch webbing or rock climbing webbing. The material should be ofsufficient width such that the weight of the skis when placed on bothshoulders does not cause discomfort to the shoulders or “dig in” to theshoulders. In the preferred embodiment, such width is about an inch. Thestrip of flexible material 18 is secured at its two ends 12 to create asingle loop of material 16. Preferably, the two ends of the flexiblematerial 18 are secured by sewing, although any appropriate fastenerscould be used, such as buckles, clips, studs, or velcro.

[0019] The single loop 16 is further divided at a securing point 13 tocreate an aft loop 15. At the securing point 13, the flexible material18 is fastened together by sewing or by other appropriate fasteningmeans. The securing point 13 is at a location sufficient to allow theaft loop 15 to be of such a size to allow the insertion of a pair of skitails 106 (see FIG. 6) into the aft loop 15.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 4, a frictional slider 14 is placed onto thesingle loop 16 to create a toe loop 17. Frictional forces keep theslider 14 secured to the flexible material 18, but can be easily movedalong the material to adjust the size of the toe loop 17. As a result ofthe addition of the slider 14 and the sewing at securing point 13, theoriginal single loop 16 of material is now subdivided into the aft loop15 and the toe loop 17, with straps 16 a and 16 b connecting said loops.The straps 16 a and 16 b become the shoulder straps of the carrier 10for carrying the skis 100 by the skier S. As can be appreciated, if morethan one piece of material is used to construct the ski carrier 10, thestraps 16 a and 16 b could be adjustable by using fasteners such asbuckles or Velcro to lengthen or shorten the straps to fit any sizedskier's torso.

[0021] Referring to FIG. 5, preferably the slider 14 includes a firstopening 14 a and a second opening 14 b with a rib 14 c in between. Tocreate the toe loop 17, the material 18 is inserted through the firstopening 14 a, traversed across the rib 14 c and inserted through thesecond opening 14 b. Preferably, the slider 14 is made of a materialsuch as a metal or a plastic. Further, as depicted in FIGS. 4-6, theopenings 14 a and 14 b should be sized to allow two strips of theflexible material 18 to be inserted when the material 18 is placed broadside to broad side. The slider 14 is adjusted by pulling the flexiblematerial 18 through the two openings 14 a and 14 b. Alternatively, theslider 14 can be made any suitable design that imparts sufficientfrictional forces to the material 18 to prevent slippage during use ofthe carrier 10. For example, one could use a short piece of compressedcopper pipe as the slider 14. The pipe must be of sufficient size topermit the material 18 to pass through it while still providingsufficient frictional forces to prevent undesired movement of thematerial 18 during use of the carrier 10. As one could appreciate, theslider 14 could also be used at securing point 13 to create the aft loop15, provided the slider 14 is sufficiently secured to prevent undesiredmovement of the slider 14.

[0022]FIG. 6 shows the ski carrier 10 secured to a pair of skis 100 andready to be worn by the skier S. In operation, the toe loop 17 issufficiently enlarged by sliding the slider 14 toward the aft loop 15.As generally known, the skis 100 include toe bindings 102 and heelbindings 104. The toe loop 17 and the aft loop 15 are slid onto the skis100 and the toe loop 17 is placed around the skis 100 below the toebinding 102. The slider 14 is then slid toward the skis 100, therebytightening the toe loop 17 against the skis 100 such that the loop 17does not slip over the toe bindings 102. Once the toe loop 17 is snuglysecured to the skis 100, the aft loop 15 is placed onto the ski tails106 below the heel bindings 104. Once the skis 100 are secured by thecarrier 10, the skier S places one of the shoulder straps 16 a over ashoulder and adjusts the skis 100 to rest along his spine (not shown).The skier S then positions his other arm through the remaining shoulderstrap 16 b. Once on the shoulders, the skier S adjusts the shoulderstraps 16 a and 16 b to equally distribute the weight of the skis overboth shoulders (see FIGS. 1-3). Once both shoulder straps 16 a and 16 bare in place, the skis 100 are securely mounted and the skier can hikeand walk on more difficult terrain, using ski poles for balance.

[0023] By virtue of carrying the skis over both shoulders, the carrier10 will not slide off the skier's shoulder, nor will the skis becomedislodged while hiking because the skis will be secured against theskier's back. This allows the skier to carry his skis without involvinghis arms and hands. This permits the skier to hike steep pitches andcross rugged terrain with both hands free for balancing and performingother tasks without needing to set the skis down.

[0024] The foregoing disclosure and description of the invention areillustrative and explanatory thereof, and various changes in the detailsof the illustrated apparatus and construction and method of operationmay be made without departing from the spirit of the invention.

I claim:
 1. A ski carrier device for hands free carrying of a pair ofskis comprising: a toe loop portion for securing said ski carrier to theskis at a location near a first binding component of the skis; an aftloop portion for securing said ski carrier to the skis at a locationnear a second binding component of the skis; and a pair of shoulderstraps connecting said toe loop to said aft loop, wherein a skier placessaid shoulder straps over each shoulder for carrying the skis.
 2. Theski carrier device according to claim 1, wherein said toe loop, aftloop, and shoulder straps are a one-piece construction.
 3. The skicarrier device according to claim 1, wherein said ski carrier isconstructed of a flexible material.
 4. The ski carrier device accordingto claim 1, wherein said toe loop is adjustable.
 5. The ski carrierdevice according to claim 1, wherein said aft loop is adjustable.
 6. Theski carrier device according to claim 1, further comprising a slider foradjusting said toe loop.
 7. A method for hands free carrying of skis bya skier with a ski carrier, said method comprising: securing a toe loopabout the skis near a first binding component; placing an aft loop aboutthe skis near a second binding component; attaching said toe loop tosaid aft loop with shoulder straps; and fitting said shoulder straps tothe skier and adjusting the skis to rest along the skier's back.
 8. Themethod of claim 7, wherein said securing step includes adjusting thesize of said toe loop by sliding a moveable slider along the toe loop.